"We understand that every organisation, regardless of industry, can be susceptible to breaches. Data privacy is a growing concern, and it's not just limited to GDPR/ransomware, but to data protection providers themselves. However, it is becoming more difficult to ensure data is safe and secure. In fact, 64% of global IT decision-makers* agree that protecting business-critical data has become increasingly difficult over the past five years."

Horn-Botha notes the general public is also increasingly sensitive about the security of its data and is moving its purchasing power away from organisations it considers to be a data protection risk. "In this climate, any loss of customer data could cause irreparable damage to an organisation's reputation and bottom line. All business leaders need to ask the pressing question: what can be done to avoid becoming the next data breach headline?"

Horn-Botha outlines four strategic steps organisations need to take:

Ensure your organisation has a comprehensive BCDR plan. "When Arcserve surveyed IT professionals around the world, we found that more than half of businesses reviewed didn't have a disaster recovery (DR) plan in place, and of those that did, less than 15% had confidence in recovery. Arcserve's eBook on enhancing your BCDR plan: How to Build a Disaster Recovery Plan, delivers the fundamentals of successful disaster recovery planning."

Test your disaster recovery plan, again and again! "Ask yourself if your disaster recovery plan will see you through ransomware attacks, hardware failures and natural disasters, or will you be caught flat-footed? If you can't answer these questions with an unequivocal 'we're ready', you should be investing greater time and resources in disaster recovery testing."

Know what to do before and after a ransomware attack. "According to Cyber Security Ventures, cyber attacks are expected to skyrocket, with the frequency of attacks estimated to be one every 14 seconds by the end of 2019**. Arcserve's Ransomware Prevention Checklist provides vital information on how to prevent ransomware attacks and what steps to take immediately following an attack."

Partner with a data protection vendor you can count on for compliance requirements. "The potential financial penalties for regulations such as GDPR can be crippling, and the damage to your brand reputation can be devastating. Ensure you work with a data protection vendor that takes regulatory compliance as seriously as you do, by offering compliance-driven technology designed with specific capabilities to address local and global regulations."

Data protection you can count on. "Arcserve's experience and IP in this arena is unmatched; we deliver protection of priceless digital assets to our customers. As the world's most experienced data protection provider, with more than 35 years' experience, we offer peace of mind when it comes to customers' BCDR needs and the solutions they can count on to keep their organisations out of the headlines," concludes Horn-Botha.

Arcserve Southern Africa is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and is the sole sub-Saharan Africa representative of US global corporation, Arcserve, a leading provider of data protection and recovery software. Arcserve provides a comprehensive solution for virtual and physical environments, on-premises or in the cloud, backed by unsurpassed support and expertise. Arcserve's new unified architecture, Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP), drives a full range of highly efficient and integrated data protection capabilities through a simple, Web-based user console.

Arcserve Southern Africa territories include: South Africa, Nigeria, East Africa and the South African Development Community (SADC).